Vega spoke to Dr. Toby Joplin’s class Wednesday morning about the contrast between Spain’s and the United States’ Soccer Systems.
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, Spanish journalist Rafa Vega called in via Zoom to Dr. Toby Joplin’s sports management class to talk about the forces behind Spain’s dominance in soccer, and how they could serve as a lesson for the United States. His presentation comes at a time where Spain has enjoyed several levels of international soccer success. Spain currently holds eight major international titles at the youth, women’s and men’s level, and the senior men and women’s national teams are the reigning champion of both of their respective World Cups. The Women U-20 team won the U-20 World Cup just last week while the men’s team holds the European Championship and an Olympic Gold Medal.
For Vega, this success has little to do with money. “We don’t have the money,” Vega told Joplin’s class. “The philosophy is we invest in facilities. We invest in player development.” Spain’s success, Vega argued, is the result of its academy structure. Unlike other academy systems in Europe, the Spanish system emphasizes local clubs, regional federations, professional academies, reserve teams and the national team as a pathway that takes a young, scouted child all the way to the highest professional level.
Vega explained to the class that a majority of the players on Spain’s 2026 men’s World Cup squad passed through the youth system. Players like Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí were recruited at an early age by Barcelona’s academy, La Masia. Key player Mikel Oyarzabal is a product of Real Sociedad’s youth academy, too. Vega also noted that the team represented 11 La Liga clubs, and these academy-developed players had generated more than €466 million in transfer income. Spain’s success is not limited to recent years; Spain had a period of dominance in the early 2010s as well, with many players such as Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets having developed through La Masia.
Winning trophies is less important to academies than the players themselves. “The player is the project,” Vega said. Academies measure their success not only by the trophies won, but also by the players they develop into the top level. This approach creates an economic advantage, according to Vega. Spanish clubs cannot always compete with the wealthier leagues such as the English Premier League, so they have instead developed their own talent. Rather than spending lots of money to buy established players, clubs invest in facilities, coaching and scouting to eventually benefit when those players reach the professional level.
Vega then contrasted this model to the American one. “In the United States, in soccer, it works a bit different,” he said. “You want to play, you pay. You pay, you play.” For many American families, youth soccer comes with significant costs. Joplin saw this issue firsthand through his daughter’s experience playing soccer. His family was able to afford for her to play, but he acknowledged that not every family had that opportunity. “If you’ve got a kid who … comes from a poorer family, they don’t have those same opportunities in the United States.”
Vega ended his talk by explaining how this contrast shows a broader difference between the two countries’ sports structures. American youth sports are often connected to schools, while Spain’s soccer system is organized around clubs and academies. For Joplin, Spain’s system shows how sometimes limitations can inspire new approaches that end up being successful. He stated, “Sometimes our best, our breakthrough innovations come from constraints.”
The event was open to the University of Tulsa community and is part of a larger series of speakers that Joplin brings to his class. “I invite 10 or 12 speakers each semester to speak about different areas of sports business,” Joplin explained. He said that he intentionally does not invite coaches and athletic directors, because many of his students are athletes and are already familiar with that area of sports management. “I try to invite people that work in other areas of sports … and have my speakers come in about the time we’re covering that topic in the textbook.”
Some of the other speakers coming later this semester include David Garrett, who was the former radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints, and Hannah Grenier, a ticket operations coordinator with the Savannah Bananas. Below is a list of speakers and dates for the rest of the semester:
Oct. 9 – Jeff Frable (partner) and Chandler Houtman (project manager) from CCK Strategies
Oct. 19 – David Garrett, former radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints
Oct. 23 – Kevin Ward, program director for Sports Animal Radio
Nov. 2 – Taylor Levacy, director of community relations for the Tulsa Drillers
Nov. 6 – Doug & Kayce Nelson, owners of K2C Gyms
Nov. 13 – Carter Hope, former professional baseball player with the Kansas City Royals
Nov. 16 – Hannah Grenier, ticket operations coordinator for the Savannah Bananas
Dec. 2 – Malcolm McCollam, executive director of Tulsa Tough
Dec. 7 – Erin Humphrey, executive assistant of Legends Global & former manager of event booking for the Dallas Cowboys
These events will also be open to the campus community, so look out on the events calendar or take note above to hear more about sports management.
